STUC Congress focuses on Growth and Manufacturing

April 17th 2011

In advance of STUC Congress 2011 which begins on Monday, the STUC is publishing a major discussion paper, the Future of Manufacturing Industry in Scotland. This is a key component of the comprehensive policy agenda being developed and debated at Congress in response to the coalition government’s avoidable, unfair and regressive cuts agenda.

Grahame Smith, STUC General Secretary said:

“Long before the great financial crisis of 2007-09, the STUC was arguing that the economy had become much too reliant on financial services and that the decline in manufacturing employment over the last three decades had not just made the economy less fair and equal but also much more unstable.

“Over the past year, the STUC has presented its priorities for manufacturing to the First Minister, the Scottish Parliament’s Economy Committee and the National Economic Forum. The STUC is now publishing the Future of Manufacturing in Scotland in order to help support a mature, evidence based discussion over the policies required at UK and Scottish level to nurture output and employment growth in our manufacturing industries.

“Politicians across the spectrum are now quite correctly focusing on how the economy might be rebalanced back towards manufacturing. It is essential that the opportunity provided by this emerging consensus is grasped. The STUC will urge the new Scottish Government to work with partners to develop a modern industrial strategy for Scotland and the paper we are publishing today highlights the key issues to be addressed. These include the provision of the patient and committed finance of which Scottish manufacturing firms have been starved. It is absolutely vital that finance is reformed in order that it supports, rather than undermines, the productive economy.

Scotland’s senior politicians have welcomed the publication of The Future of manufacturing Industry in Scotland. Jim Mather, Minister for Enterprise said:

“Following the National Economic Forum (NEF) in December 2010, we welcome this contribution from the STUC on what might be done to grow manufacturing in Scotland, and are continuing to work closely with STUC to take this important work forward. The manufacturing sector plays a vital role in helping Scotland’s recovery and the significance of the sector is highlighted in the updated National Economic Recovery Plan”.

Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray said:

“If Labour is elected to form the next Scottish government, manufacturing will play a key role in creating and supporting jobs and economic growth. These two issues are what really matter to people in Scotland at this time and the STUC’s paper is very welcome and an important contribution to the debate we need to have. Scotland’s 21st century economy must have manufacturing at the very heart of it”.

ENDS

For further information contact
Stephen Boyd 0141 337 8100

Notes

1 The Future of manufacturing Industry in Scotland will be published on the STUC and There is a Better Way Campaign websites on Sunday 17 April 2011.

2 The STUC will also publish on Sunday 17 April a paper, the Wrong Plan for Growth? which analyses and challenges the evidence base used by the coalition in developing the Plan for Growth published alongside the Budget last month. This will show that the Government’s argument that tax cuts and deregulation are required to boost competitiveness is not justified by the credible, international evidence.